Comments

1. 1. 

      Creator Lignum on March 21

      Rothfuss? Squuueeeeeee!!!

   2. 

      Creator Adam Heine on March 20

      @Pacal -- You might be interested in this article from Monte: http://www.montecookgames.com/a-billion-years/

   3. 

      Creator Josh - Sous Chef of the Obsidian Order on March 20

      The structure at the center of that crystalline dimension looks a bit like the Air Force Academy Chapel...

   4. 

      Creator Quantomas on March 20

      @Pacal
      Your first question should probably best left to Monte Cook as a mystery to reveal and play with. Maybe T:ToN could introduce its own twists. Regarding your second question Monte already mentioned that some of the nine civilizations transcended, i.e. went sublime a la the term Iain M. Banks used in his Culture novels. The description of the remains truly indicate vast technological advancement.

   5. 

      Creator Pacal_II on March 20

      I've got two questions about the setting.
      1. Is the first of the nine civilizations in Numenera our civilization, or at least our in the future. Or in the grand scheme of events our civilization never evolved enough to be anywhere closer to the late ones?
      2. How advanced could these civilizations get? In science fiction we have many approaches. Some more cautionary writers believe our technology won't get too far, and we never manage to create AIs, war and poverty continue to be a problem and so on. On the other hand we have the trans-humanist view, with AIs often much more intelligent and moral than us, with Uplifts, space travel, singularities, nanotechnology and a post-scarcity economy (the more popular view now because of Moore's law). So how did technology evelve in Numenera?

   6. 

      Creator Adam Heine on March 20

      @russell -- Sorry, man. I understand how you feel. Unfortunately, the $65 tier saps more of our budget than probably any other tier; adding more rewards (and therefore more backers) to that particular tier would have the unfortunate effect of making the Kickstarter total look a lot more impressive than it really is :-/

      If you really want the digital novellas, you can get them as an add-on for $15, or you can select the $50 reward tier (it'll lose you the box, but will gain you a digital soundtrack and art book).

   7. 

      Creator Duskwind (Exile in Torment) on March 20

      @russell - we're paying to get Torment made, and the more we pay, the better it will be. And specifically, you're paying $65 to get a physical boxed game posted to you; the $39 tier is all digital. Why should you get something for free that others are paying $39 for? And you also get all sorts of other goodies at the higher tiers.

   8. 

      Creator russell on March 19

      @adam Heine Lame Im already paying $65 bucks dont see why i should raise my amount to get something that is litterly email pushed out to some one giving $39.

   9. 

      Creator Rafał Dryżałowski on March 19

      Let me know if you will ever need English-Polish translators :D

   10. 

       Creator Adam Heine on March 19

       @russell: The digital novellas come with all physical tiers $95 and up. See the tables here for a clearer picture: http://tormentrpg.tumblr.com/thekstiers

   11. 

       Creator russell on March 19

       maybe im missing something, but do you not get the novels with the physical goods level? id have to lower my pledge to read them?

   12. 

       Creator Quantomas on March 18

       @Hiver
       Sure, but it's hard to tell whether that is more than a generic flag and whether my explanations so far are sufficient to convey the extent T:ToN will be enhanced by it, i.e. the scope of the improvements. Hence my comment, it's perfectly reasonable that it's not clear that advanced features like mind states and intricate systems that model the Tides and the spread of knowledge through locations come with it.

   13. 

       Creator Hiver on March 18

       @ Quantomas
       Did you not see that your posts about that got "considering" tag?

   14. 

       Creator Quantomas on March 18

       @Colin McComb and others
       Regarding detailed modelling of who knows what, mind states of individuals, groups and entities so to speak, there is a limit of what you can do with writing and scripting.

       It's feasible in the framework/solution I suggested here: https://torment.uservoice.com/forums/192241-stretch-goals/suggestions/3742877-advanced-tools-for-crafting-reactivity-5-mio-or

       Enhanced tools that empower writing allow for tracking the entire scope. This includes tracking who knows what and can systematically be enhanced to model spread of knowledge in the world, Tides reacting to locations and such. No one has done this on this scale before, and it would make T:ToN a greater game with mindboggling possibilities.

   15. 

       Creator Willie on March 18

       Love the concept art, really looking forward to exploring these imaginative and mystical locations!

       Also, I agree with Oscar; very important point. I am not going to go into the justification for using a tide/alignment system as that is an incredibly complex and long investigation involving the truly deep philosophical question of whether the category distinction between “event” (of “category A” reflecting action-reaction pairs) and “judgment” (of “category non-A” reflecting objective-subjective pairs) is truly valid within reality (reflecting problems of idealism vs. realism, etc.). However, the Ninth World is not this world we live in and thus we can leave that alone for now; we can thus consider the tides (which makes the philosophical distinction of event and judgment) as a given. And in this do I echo Oscar’s point that given the tide system, its justification in the game world and extrapolation on its inner workings needs to occur for an intellectual fulfilling experience (of both the game and the Ninth World via the game) in my opinion. I don’t think that should be left to the imagination of the player and also feel that you guys (the developers) should not be scared to take a stance on this (together with Monte Cook of course since the justification needs to agree with his vision/lore of the Ninth world); for example: justifying the system via an “invisible karmic thread” that all sentient or self-sustaining life forms are connected to or perhaps even some “semi-physical/real and semi-abstract field” that all entities are connected to and have intuition of (something akin to the Platonic Forms for Platonists or the “weave of magic” for arcane casters in D&D) and then of course somehow integrating extrapolations on said justification within the game (perhaps even making it a central part of the narrative/character development). I believe this is very important and should be carefully considered by you (it seems from Colin’s comments that you guys are giving this point its due attention) since it is a point that will determine the intellectual maturity of your creation to a great degree I believe.

       Also I approve of keeping mystery in the world, especially with regards to the notions of "magic" vs. "technology" and perhaps even asking some questions through this mystery (reflecting the philosophical question of "of nature"/"immanence" versus "not of nature"/"transcendence").

       Other than that point, I just wish to express again that I am really so excited for this! So glad this is happening. Thanks Colin, Brian, Adam, Monte, etc. for this! All you guys at InXile thank you!

   16. 

       Creator Adam Heine on March 18

       @Pacal: Good questions. Honestly, the Tides are an attempt to kind of codify all of human experience and emotion into five little boxes. So I have no doubt we'll miss stuff :-) That said, I might consider freedom to fit into the Red box. I mean Tide ;-)

       Also the factions won't be strictly limited to the Tides, so it's entirely possible we'll have a "free league" equivalent, even if it doesn't fit a single Tide very strongly.

       As for the colors, we haven't fully determined how we're going to use them yet. So we'll see :-)

   17. 

       Creator Pacal_II on March 18

       Thank for answering my last question, but I've got a new one :D.
       I wonder, why among the values represented by the tides there isn't: freedom. I remember the free league being one of my favorite faction in planescape. Do the different tides also represent different aspects, or "types" of freedom.
       Also, I realized that my two favorite presented tides, mix up into my favorite color! So I wonder, when to tides dominate do they also "create another color", so for example gold and blue, becomes green?

   18. 

       Creator Maciej Szydłowski on March 18

       @Pawel Zawisza
       Przed wyruszeniem w drogę należy zebrać drużynę.
       :P

   19. 

       Creator Pawel Zawisza on March 18

       Great to see such a big support from the Polish community. For the record, localizing the game in Polish means this will most likely see a physical release of some sort. At the end of 1990s CD Projekt (the guys who made the Witcher) localized all of Bioware games, using star-ridden cast. Imagine Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, etc. giving voices to PS:T, that was the level of Polish localizations we were given.

       My guess is CD Projekt contacted Inxile Ent. and struck a distribution deal (they are also a huge publisher in Middle/Eastern Europe). I think it will be a great success and help bring a lot of older gamers to the fold - my father adores cRPGs, however he cannot play as often as he would like to due to the fact so many games nowadays are reflex-dependant.

       Also, the subjects of novellas are incredible - wouldn't be surprised if all of the ended up being Cast-offs. This way we have some sort of continuity (PS:T - previous lives of Nameless One, Numenera - previouos cast-offs). It's shaping like one hell of a game!

   20. 

       Creator Duskwind (Exile in Torment) on March 17

       @Torment Fan - Pre-rendered cutscenes featuring the PC (as seen in Planescape) would be one obvious reason. Allowing for two genders already requires two versions of any such cutscene to be rendered; allowing for every possible combination of hairstyle, skin colour, etc would be impossible.

   21. 

       Creator Torment Superfan - The Enduring Exile on March 17

       @Colin McComb Nice to see you on here.

       Quick question: why is character customization (hair, skin color etc) not being implemented? I'm not arguing the feature should or shouldn't be but I noticed on the community site it was quickly set as not planned.

   22. 

       Creator Colin McComb on March 17

       @Duskwind Man, talk about posting at the same time...

   23. 

       Creator Duskwind (Exile in Torment) on March 17

       Snap!

   24. 

       Creator Colin McComb on March 17

       @ Pacal_II 1. There are people who know or suspect, yes.
       2. Some of it will certainly feel like magic, and without the knowledge to distinguish it from science, who are we to say there's no magic? That boundary will remain very blurry, especially from a player's perspective.

   25. 

       Creator Duskwind (Exile in Torment) on March 17

       @Pacal_II - 1) Yes. Though I expect the average person just doesn't understand the difference; technology is so incredible that magic as a concept is probably redundant. 2) Other dimensions aren't that uncommon in SF - think hyperspace or aliens ascended to a higher level of existence or parallel universes.

   26. 

       Creator Colin McComb on March 17

       @Oscar Barda - That's always driven me crazy too, and it's one of the things we're talking about.

   27. 

       Creator the-beast on March 17

       Any chance you can provide a few more wallpaper resolutions for those of us that can not afford a widescreen monitor? Something like 1280 x 1024 would be brilliant.

       Thanks.

   28. 

       Creator Oscar Barda on March 17

       Speaking of Tides : please please please pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase find a way to justify the shared knowledge of alignments.
       What I mean by that is that I hate hate hate it when I murder some dude in the middle of the desert and then come back to town and everyone hates me for it.

       Maybe some races have a weird psychic link that alows them to know who murdered the others, maybe if you equip some NPC's weapon you just kill and come back to town someone goes "Hey! That's brad's gun! Look at the notches on the guard, he would have never given it away, KILL THAT DUDE!" or something like that.

       But really, if it's just non-justified "everybody's watching your every move and knows your reputation" that's gonna end up feeling half baked to me.

       Same thing, maybe simulate the spread of the player's reputation / influence on the world or something like that.

       Example : Save a town from an attack, farm around and then go to the next : boom, they heard about you.
       Do the same but rush to the next city, they have no idea who you are...

       Thanks for reading if you did :)

   29. 

       Creator Pacal_II on March 17

       I've got two questions about Numenera.
       1. Are there people who realize that what surrounds them is technology and not magic? Basically some rationalist faction or just individuals who realize this.
       2. Is there no magic at all? The hard thing for me to imagine is how can other dimensions be non-magical. Are they other planets to which you travel by wormholes or some kind of virtual realities?

   30. 

       Creator Starker on March 17

       @Pacal

       Yes, but a billion years into the future, so it might just as well be. Who knows how it has been terraformed or how the solar system itself has (been) changed... For example, there's a pangaea again.

   31. 

       Creator Pacal_II on March 16

       So as I understand the setting of Numenera is our earth, not a different planet colonized by humans a long time ago?

   32. 

       Creator Balgin Stondraeg on March 16

       "Updated my alignment system." Awsome :).

   33. 

       Creator Balgin Stondraeg on March 16

       Is that the second consecutive video in which I hear the wonderful voice of Michael T Wiess - the original voice of the Nameless One from Torment? Lovely :).

   34. 

       Creator Steel Phoenix on March 16

       I disagree that the Gold tide is inherently good vs. evil... I can see lots of ways that you can make it evil. Empathy, charity and compassion... remember the tides are PERCEPTIONS of your legacy. I could appear to be empathetic and compassionate in order to quietly manipulate people to my side. Charity and sacrifice don't necessarily mean that I lost anything in the process. Maybe I stole from someone else, kept the bulk of it and gave out tokens to the disenfranchised as evidence of my good will. I can see Gold as being quite the subtle brand of evil.

   35. 

       Creator Vít Novotný on March 16

       It will be interesting to see how the system of tides plays out. The binary good / evil system has issue rewarding those "in between", let's see if this helps alleviate that w/o bringing its own set of issues. I lke the colors thing, by the way - reminds me of the Nix's Seventh Tower book.

   36. 

       Creator Azriel on March 16

       Hmmm, that is actually a good idea lukasz, it would be cool if the labyrinth would reflect the direction of your tides.

       BLUE:
       reason
       insight
       wisdom

       GOLD
       empathy
       sharity
       compassion
       insight
       sacrifice

       INDIGO
       justice
       equity
       compromise
       the greater good

       Silver
       admiration
       power
       fame

       RED
       passion
       emotion
       action
       pathos
       zeal

   37. 

       Creator Oliver Uvman on March 16

       Lukasz: The Labyrinth will be a reflection of the castoff's mind. If you want a dark labyrinth, maybe you'll need to play a dark character? :)

   38. 

       Creator Vít Novotný on March 16

       @Łukasz: I, too, (baselessly) thought that the Labyrinth would be underground. It doesn't mean it should or needs to be so, just what "a labyrinth" evokes to me.

   39. 

       Creator Łukasz Hajnc on March 16

       Castoff’s Labyrinth looks strange its lake a ship i dont lake it. It is not sufficient enoght darkness for me. To sweet.

   40. 

       Creator Robcat - Tormented Weresheepcat of Sin on March 16

       @ Adam Heine, Great video, you're a natural!

       As an aside, I'd like to echo Jess Montgomery's comments about the V.Mars kickstarter. I found Adam's sincere and articulate video much more compelling than their slickly acted/affected pitch (amusing though it was), which actually turned me off their project.

   41. 

       Creator Taragon on March 16

       i like this alignment system. ive been feeling in most games ive been playing that alignment is way to binary with pretty silly eveil choice. without evil options, the tides seems are far more reasonable system, that i wont have to make stupid choices and just play more naturally

   42. 

       Creator Adam Heine on March 16

       @Azriel: The Tides are independent of good and evil (well, mostly -- the Gold Tide does encompass a lot of good, sacrificial actions). The consequences of good or evil actions will be handled more by the specific actions rather than the Tides themselves.

       For example, if you killed them all, then both groups would fear and/or hate you for it (the consequence of being evil), but the reflection in the Tides would be a possible increase in Silver (e.g. admiration, respect, or power). Does that make sense?

   43. 

       Creator Erik on March 16

       I meant to say the $39 tier and the $50 tier.

   44. 

       Creator Azriel on March 16

       I am a bit worried that the tides seem to lean too heavily toward positive/good action by their very definition than actual evil/negative way. Oh join one or the other group or kill them all and you get respect? what? I really do not want to see evil action become meaningless. Oh, its all perspective! There is no evil or good, however your actions funnily enough always seem to be good and your evil actions seem to be sorta bad. Yes there are shades of grey, but you have to have clear cut good/evil paths as well or your choices become meaningless. So many games just screw the option to play an evil character..oh sorry, darker shade of grey character. Might want to reword some of the tides so they are about even in good/evil/neutral, so far it leans toward good actions by the wording.

   45. 

       Creator Don Reba on March 16

       Judging based on actions, not motivations — my inner sociopath approves this.

   46. 

       Creator bloodraven43-eternal order of the unseen on March 15

       you guys are fkin crazy...love all these concepts...im hoping the updated my journal isn't copywrited at all...love hearing that....cant wait to play this game...this kickstarter is the best so far that ive seen.

   47. 

       Creator ET3D on March 15

       @Anthony DePasquale, you can add the art book and soundtrack for $8 each as add-ons.

   48. 

       Creator Bent Granheim on March 15

       those wallpapers are really cool, but could you please upload some versions that aren't so heavily jpeg compressed? would use the latest one as desktop background otherwise. :)

   49. 

       Creator Theobeau:OOoE\Mad man with a box/Exiled on March 15

       Great update as always but have also noticed that the funding is slowing down. Maybe Ms. Mars is getting all the loving!

       How goes the attempts to up pledges from mid level pledgers? As someone who likes physical goods, I've pledged to a mid tier but the next physical up is almost double. However, if I was on the corresponding digital tier and wanted to take advantage of the next step up rewards, it would only be a 40% increase.

   50. 

       Creator Adam Heine on March 15

       There's an easy-to-read table of all the tiers and their rewards here: http://tormentrpg.tumblr.com/thekstiers

       And the add-ons (plus information on how to add them) is here: http://tormentrpg.tumblr.com/theksaddons